Baked cinnamon sugar donuts are soft, cake-style donuts made in a donut pan instead of deep frying. They’re quick and easy to make, and coated in melted butter and cinnamon sugar for classic bakery-style flavor. Ready in about 45 minutes, this simple from-scratch recipe yields perfectly spiced and ultra moist donuts.
I originally published this recipe in 2015, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips for consistently excellent results.
Who doesn’t love fresh, warm, homemade donuts—especially when they’re coated in buttery cinnamon sugar? These baked cinnamon sugar donuts are soft, cakey, and packed with cozy spice flavor. They’re baked instead of fried, so they’re quick, easy, and perfect for beginner bakers.
You can mix the batter by hand, bake them in about 10 minutes, and finish them with a dunk in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. If you love classic cake donuts from a bakery, you’ll adore this homemade version.
We’ve been making them this way for years!
Why You’ll Love These Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts:
- No mixer needed—just a couple bowls and a whisk
- Baked, not fried—no standing over the stove or hot oil required
- Soft, cakey texture—like a classic cake donut
- Warm cinnamon and nutmeg flavor in every bite
- Ready in about 45 minutes
- Coated in buttery, crunchy cinnamon sugar for that irresistible finish
Why Bake Donuts Instead of Frying?
Baked donuts are easier to make at home because they don’t require hot oil or special equipment. Instead of frying, the batter is baked in a donut pan, which creates a soft cake-style donut with a lighter texture. Baked donuts are also wonderful if you have young bakers helping in the kitchen because they’re quicker and less fussy than traditional fried donuts!
Most of my donut recipes are baked, not fried, so you have many delicious ways to use your donut pan. Think chocolate frosted donuts… maple glazed donuts… pumpkin donuts… apple cider donuts… you get the idea!
That said, if you’d like to try making traditional yeasted and fried donuts, I have a recipe for homemade glazed doughnuts that’s a great place to start.
Don’t have a donut pan? You can use a muffin pan instead. See the Notes section beneath the recipe below for instructions.
Ingredients You Need for Baked Donuts & Why
We’re using my standard baked donut recipe as the base. It’s what I use for my chocolate frosted donuts, lemon poppy seed donuts, chai spice donuts, and banana donuts.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is best for baked donuts.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: Lifts up the donuts as they bake.
- Salt: Key for flavor balance.
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg: Truly gives these donuts that special bakery taste and aroma; don’t skip!
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Brown Sugar: Sweetened and adds moisture.
- Milk: Thins out the thick batter *just* right.
- Yogurt or Sour Cream: Adds flavorless moisture that won’t weigh the crumb down.
- Butter: For texture as well as that irresistible buttery flavor.
- Vanilla: Another key flavor for cinnamon sugar donuts.
The Process is Super Simple
You only need a couple bowls and a silicone spatula—no mixer required!
Make the donut batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, then combine until just mixed. So easy! The batter is thicker than most cake batters—that’s exactly what you want for structured, tender, cakey donuts.
Fill the donut cavities: Because the batter is thick, it’s easiest to transfer it to the pan using a piping bag or a large zip-top bag with the corner snipped. Just spoon the batter into the bag, trim off a bottom corner, and squeeze the batter into the donut cavities.
Just like this:
The donuts bake up VERY quickly. Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then an additional few minutes on a cooling rack.
The Best Cinnamon Sugar Coating for Donuts
This finishing touch is what really makes these freshly baked donuts shine. Each warm donut gets:
- A quick dip in melted butter
- A generous roll in cinnamon sugar
The butter helps the coating stick and gives the donuts that irresistible old-fashioned donut shop flavor. Every bite is soft inside with a lightly crunchy, sweet exterior.
Prefer icing on your donuts instead? Try my strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla donut frostings instead.
Baked Donuts Success Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. For soft and springy donuts, mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Pipe the batter into the pan. For the neatest donut shape, pipe the batter into the donut pan using a zipped-top bag with the corner snipped (or use a piping bag). Because the batter is thick, spooning it into the pan can be messy.
- Enjoy them fresh. These donuts are best enjoyed the same day, but leftovers keep well for about 2 days, or you can freeze them.
These baked cinnamon sugar donuts are one of those recipes that feels special but couldn’t be easier to make. They’re soft, buttery, warmly spiced, and coated in just the right amount of cinnamon sugar. Serve them warm with coffee, add them to a weekend brunch spread, or bake a batch just because you’re craving donuts!
And if you’re baking for a crowd, go ahead and double the recipe—they disappear fast!
P.S. Looking for a baked chocolate cake-style donut recipe? You can find one on page 205 of my NYT best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101!
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 donuts
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These baked cinnamon sugar donuts are soft, moist cake-style donuts made in a donut pan instead of fried. Ready in about 45 minutes, this easy homemade donut recipe is coated in melted butter and cinnamon sugar for classic bakery-style flavor. The recipe yields just 8 donuts, so be sure to double the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g/ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease donut pan(s) with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, milk, and sour cream together until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be very thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or, for ease, I recommend transferring the batter into a large zip-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling each about halfway.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. To test, lightly press the top of a donut. If it springs back, they’re done.
- Cool donuts in the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter.
- Top the donuts: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Dip the donuts in the melted butter, then dunk into the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating all sides.
- These donuts taste best served shortly after coating. Cover leftover donuts tightly and store at room temperature for 1–2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the baked donuts for up to 2–3 months. For best results, freeze them before adding the butter and cinnamon sugar coating. Let the donuts cool completely, then place them in a freezer-friendly container or zip-top bag with parchment between layers to prevent sticking. Thaw the donuts overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature for a couple hours. Warm them briefly in the microwave for about 10–15 seconds, if desired. Once thawed and slightly warm, dip each donut in melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar coating before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Muffins: You can bake this batter in a standard 12-count muffin pan instead of a donut pan. The recipe yields around 8 muffins. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full and bake at the same temperature for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes, then dip the tops and sides in melted butter and coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Milk: For the donut batter, any milk works, dairy or non-dairy. I’ve tested with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk.
- Can I Double This Recipe? Yes, absolutely. The recipe yields just 8 donuts. To double for 16 donuts, simply double all of the ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I’ve made these donuts and they are absolutely as good as any I’ve gotten out. My only complaint had to do with the silicon pan I used. (Not a fan.) Make them right before serving and you’ll have people throwing metaphorical flowers at your feet. Seriously they’re good.
How can I adapt this recipe to make chocolate donuts?
Hi Eileen, You can use the batter from these chocolate donut holes (baked in a regular donut pan like these!) and you can cover those with the cinnamon and sugar instead of a glaze if you wish.
Can I use unsweetened almond milk?
Hi Sherlyn, Yes absolutely. Enjoy!
Can these be made as donut holes?
Hi Nancy, You can use a mini muffin pan and bake for about 9-10 minutes. That’s how long it takes spiced apple cider donut holes and the recipes are somewhat similar.
Hello, can I use coconut yogurt instead of plain yogurt?
Should be fine, Karen!
Could these be made in a countertop donut maker (essentially a countertop appliance with mini regular donut shape pans)
We can’t see why not, Rachel! Let us know if you give it a try.
Question. Is it ok if I don’t use a donut pan? Is the dough a consistency that I can shape them the way I want.
Hi Gwen! This is more like a muffin batter baked in a donut shape. You can bake them in muffin tins if you don’t have a donut pan.
Sounds delicious!
Covering all sides in cinnamon sugar was far too sweet for us, next time I’ll only do tops.
Otherwise, I’ll definitely make these again!
Question, how many donuts come out of the cinnamon donut recipe?
Hi Betsy, this recipe yields 8 donuts.
These turned out great and were so easy to make! Little kids loved them.
These are amazing, and so easy. I disagree about best served immediately. We ate some immediately and they were good, but popped them in the fridge in an air tight container and the next day they had a delicious, crunchy shell – divine!
I was able to make 5 donuts filling to the fill line on my 6 compartment donut pan. They are cooling now and do look like a donut!
These are mine and my kids favorite kind of baked cinnamon sugar donuts. We use zero calorie brown sugar, homemade vanilla extract, homemade butter and even almond milk still have great results. Looking forward to maybe trying different donut recipes from sallysbakingaddiction just to get a variety of donuts I can make. Super simple and super fast!
I’d love to know if you could grate some orange zest and maybe even some finely chopped cranberries into the batter and glaze them when done, versus dipping in cinnamon sugar. What do you think, Sally? I’ve made these baked cinnamon sugar donuts and absolutely love them. They are off the chain, delicious and easy.
Hi Kathy, we haven’t tested this recipe with add-ins like orange zest or cranberries, but you certainly can! That sounds delicious! We recommend making the recipe as written and adding about 1/2-1 cup of cranberries. If you try it out, let us know how it goes!
Hi Sally, Thanks for reply! I plan to make them tomorrow. I will make one batch with your perfect recipe and try another with the orange zest and cranberries.
I will surely let you know how they turn out. Thanks again!
I’m going need to sub sour cream for yogurt because I don’t have it..yikes! Is there another better sub instead of yogurt?
Sour cream is a good substitute, Cindy!
Can you double or even triple this order to make more?
Hi Mary, yes, feel free to double this batter.
Sooo good they were the first doughnut I ever made and they were so easy. I am going to make them again soon
These taste nothing like properly made cinnamon sugar donuts. They have an almost oatmeal like quality to them. Although they looked just like the ones in the video, they won’t worth the calories. They went straight into the garbage. Yuck!
Hi Ava, I’m sorry you had trouble with these. I wonder why yours tasted like oatmeal, or the texture of oatmeal. Did you make any substitutions? Did you accidentally under-bake them? Thanks for the feedback.
Best recipe have ever seen
Would love to know if there is a way to add blueberries?
Hi Jocelyn, We haven’t tested this recipe with blueberries but you certainly can. We recommend making the recipe as written and adding about 1/2-1 cup of blueberries. If you try it out, let us know how it goes!
This was amazing! My toddler is obsessed with donuts and this without the cinnamon and sugar is perfect for her! I was wondering has anyone ever made any variations of this? Such a using pumpkin or applesauce in place of egg or yogurt?
I could not use the bag method. I made a big mess. They smell delicious! Not quite finished yet.
Keep up the delicious recipes. I love so many, they always turn out good.
These were easy, quick, and so delicious! I’d never made doughnuts before, but these were a huge hit.
Delicious Donuts! I followed the recipe as instructed for the donuts and got 12. Using a zipped-top plastic bag to pipe the donuts is crucial and easy. I cut back on the amount of melted butter, sugar and cinnamon for the topping: 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup of sugar and approx. 1/8 tsp of cinnamon, which turned out to be the exact amount for my taste buds. Exquisite and easy!
These were delightful, great crumb and not too sweet, we enjoyed them plain with coffee, delicious! The bonus being how easy they are compared to a yeasted donut, I might even make up a batch of the dry mix to have on hand for next time, which will likely be soon. Thanks!
These donuts were delicious! My sister and I loved them. I’m not sure if they turned out different since I used sour cream in place of yogurt, but still tasted amazing!
Did you use the same amount of sour cream that was called for with yogurt?
Just wanted to add I used sour cream as well, didn’t have yogurt on hand, and used same amount. Donuts turned out great!
Had a major cake donut craving, but fried donuts kill my stomach I decided to give these a try and so glad I did. They definitely hit the donut stop!!
Yes they were really good, and the whole family loved them, which doesn’t usually happen.
I’ve had doughnut pans for a decade and after used them much after a couple less than ideal attempts. I decided today to give this recipe a try — and wow — they turned out delicious! Even without the final butter/sugar coating, they are excellent straight from the pan 😉 They taste exactly like my mother’s brown sugar cookies (without all the work of rolling out cookies).
Thank you for the recipe!